Public mingles with finalists

Brighton residents discovered Tuesday that one of the finalists for the city manager’s job lives in their town, another is a Hartland High School graduate, and a third has a sister-in-law who lives in South Lyon.

The Brighton City Council held an open house in the Brighton Community Center to give residents an opportunity to meet the six finalists for the city manager's job. Current City Manager Dana Foster exits Friday after nearly 25 years with the city.

Four of the finalists are from Michigan, one is from Nebraska and the sixth is from Maine. About 40 residents and community leaders attended the three-hour event.

“From what I can tell, they’re all highly qualified individuals and I’m looking forward to the interview process tomorrow,” Mayor Jim Muzzin said.

The interviews are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. today in City Hall. Each interview is expected to last 90 minutes, with the last one scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.

Council members will interview Nate Geinzer, assistant to the city manager of Farmington Hills; Robert Hillard, city manager and clerk of Allegan; and Jonathan Greene, assistant city manager and economic development director of Jackson.

They also will interview Christopher Wren, former city manager of Linden; Daniel Ortiz-Hernandez, city administrator of Kimball, Nebraska; and Austin Bleess, city manager of Caribou, Maine.

Muzzin said council members will take a break after the interviews and return to select a person for the job. Here's a look at the candidates:

Nate Geinzer

Geinzer, a 1997 Pinckney High School graduate, began his career in public service as a student intern in Brighton, making $10 an hour. He now makes about $75,000 a year in Farmington Hills, a city 20 miles east of Brighton.

Geinzer, 36, and his wife, Erin, have three children. They have lived in Brighton for 11 years.

“I’m ready to come home,” he said. “I love where I work. I work with great people, both inside and just in the community in general.

“This is the one job that could pull me away from Farmington Hills,” he added. “This is where I live. The ability to walk or ride my bike to work, to walk downtown and grab a bite to eat — those are the things I can’t do right now.”

Robert Hillard

City manager finalist Robert Hillard talks with Brighton community leaders.(Photo: Noe Hernandez)